Friend to Friend, Heart to Heart
by amaayasha
Summary: Sometimes, you just can't understand how certain friendships work out or stay strong. Two friends are willing to go to any extent to figure out how the two most mysterious people in school, the ones unlikely to be friends at all, are actually the closest of friends. Rated T for language and certain situations.
1. シャットアウト

_シャットアウト (shattoauto) - keep out, exclude, shut_

Kagome Higurashi didn't ask for many things in life. Maybe a bit more sleep, and less time in school to do math, but generally she was a very happy person, content with her life.

So why did she keep wishing she could get into Inuyasha Takahashi's head?

Math was one of the three subjects Kagome had with Inuyasha - without his best friend. In the one other class she had him in it, he was always with his best friend. So she was always watching him in those classes, wondering what was going on in his mind. She would die to know, to be completely honest.

Inuyasha Takahashi, the half demon son of Inutaisho Takahashi, the CEO of the biggest company in Japan. Inuyasha Takahashi, the one that has always been hated just because he had been born. Inuyasha Takahashi, the one who scowls at anyone who approaches him. Inuyasha Takahashi, the one who only had one friend. A friend he didn't scowl at, and in rare moments, Kagome had seen him smile at that friend. A friend who Kagome was pretty convinced that he was dating.

Kagome wasn't ashamed to admit - at least, to herself - that she probably had the biggest crush on the half demon Takahashi. It was the ears, I tell you! The adorable dog ears covered in white fur was what attracted her to him in the first place. Then those gold, gold eyes…

"Kagome, snap out of it! The bell rung!" Eri shook her friend. Kagome blinked, shaking her head as she began to get her things together. "Sorry, Eri, I was…distracted," she said off-handedly, looking at Inuyasha through the corner of her eye. The half demon was still packing up his things.

Kagome hadn't told her friends about her crush on him and didn't plan to do so anytime soon. Ayumi, she knew, wouldn't mind - she was always on the side of Kagome's happiness. But Ayumi was a blabbermouth and she was sure to tell Eri and Yuka, the two people that Kagome _didn't _want knowing about her crush on Inuyasha. They disliked his demon blood and thought he was too gangster, so obviously they wouldn't approve. Miroku, well…she'd be better off if he didn't know. He'd tease her until the day she died about it.

_Besides…it's not like I have a chance with him, or anything. _Kagome straightened up and grabbed her back, glancing at Inuyasha again. He was looking up at the girl approaching him from the doorway. _Not when clearly he only cares for one person._

Sango Taijiya.

Sango Taijiya came from a long line of demon slayers, all the way back from the feudal era. Some from her bloodline, like herself, still practiced the art, most of them were in the military or police officers of some sorts. It was a surprise to everyone when they found this out, early middle school, because ever since the beginning of seventh grade Sango and Inuyasha have been friends. They were as close as they could be and they retained their friendship up until now. The rumor was that she and Inuyasha were dating, but it was up to debate - Inuyasha had an ex girlfriend from ninth grade, Kikyo Miya, and the rumor was much older than that.

Watching from the corner of her eye the way that Inuyasha casually asked Sango something, and smirking at her dry response and dodged her swat aimed for the back of his head. He stood up and they left the math room together.

Kagome sighed, following Eri out of the room to eat lunch in silence.

###

Ever since seventh grade, Inuyasha Takahashi and Sango Taijiya have been inseparable. No one knew how they met, or how they even became friends. They were the two people most unlikely to be friends - Inuyasha the half demon with attitude, Sango the demon slayer with temper - but their friendship seemed to be going strong. _A bit too strongly, in my opinion._

Do not misunderstand, Miroku Houshi did not dislike the fact that Inuyasha and Sango were great friends as they obviously were. It was more so the fact that out of all the girls he endlessly pursued that went to the school, Sango was the only one he hadn't yet been able to work his charms on.

It was part respect, part fear. Miroku respected Sango - she belonged to a respectable family and deserved to be treated the very best by any man who had her. But he also feared for his life, not because he was afraid of Sango, but of Inuyasha - every time Miroku's hand would get close to the wonderful behind of the beautiful demon slayer, Inuyasha would catch him and the dark look he gave the monk send shivers up his spine. The look was too possessive, which got Miroku wondering if the rumors of Inuyasha and Sango dating were true.

Needless to say, Miroku was curious about Sango and Inuyasha. It did not hurt that Sango was beautiful, talented, and smarter than a lot of people he knew. He wanted to know her better, to actually call her his friend. But how to do that?

Miroku caught sight of his closest friend, Kagome, and suddenly got possibly the greatest idea of the century. Despite her never saying so, he knew that she had a crush on Inuyasha and she was, by nature, a very curious girl. Now if she'd just agree to it, everything would work out perfectly.

Mind made up, Miroku waved Kagome over. He normally sat with the four girls, but he much preferred Kagome over those three chatty girls. Possibly because Kagome was a priestess while he was a priest. Nevertheless, they got along well.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the normal spot under a tree where they normally had lunch, but Miroku shook his head and waved her over again. Nodding, Kagome told something to the other three and ran over to Miroku. "What's wrong, Miroku?"

"I need to talk to you. Sit, sit." Waiting for her to sit down, Miroku went back to staring at Sango, who was taking her normal spot under a tree next to Inuyasha and taking out her lunch.

"…Any reason why you made me come here claiming you want to talk and then stare off into space," Kagome grumbled, her head still pounding from her math class. She _had _tried to pay attention, after all, before she gave up and stared at Inuyasha. _So. Many. _**_Numbers._**

"I haven't been staring off into space, I've been waiting for you to look at what I'm looking at," Miroku answered flippantly, his eyes not even wavering from where they were locked on. Kagome sighed but turned her back, following Miroku's gaze.

Her eyes landed towards the tree where Inuyasha and Sango were seated, who looked like they were in a deep discussion. Sango was using her hands to express herself, her dark brown hair in a high ponytail that swished as she moved her head, while Inuyasha just snorted and pushed his hair back in an annoyed fashion as he talked back with his arms crossed.

"…any reason you're staring at Sango and Inuyasha?" Kagome finally asked, tearing her eyes away from Inuyasha for a second to look back at Miroku.

"I know you have a crush on Inuyasha, Kagome-" Miroku started, ignoring Kagome's furious blush and her exclamations of "I do not!" "-and I wouldn't mind getting to know Sango better. Problem is, those two are a package deal. I can't start anything with Sango unless Inuyasha approves, and girls go through Sango before getting to Inuyasha, so why not work together?"

"Miroku, this is crazy. They're best friends, sure, but you've heard the rumors. It's a great possibility that they _are _dating. I'm not going to break them up just because I have a crush on Inuyasha." Ignoring the fact that she had just told Miroku about her crush on the Takahashi, she continued on. "Besides, I've talked to Sango before, we get along and I didn't have to go through Inuyasha." True, it had only been a short discussion over an essay due for their history class, but she ignored that small fact.

"We won't know for sure until we actually meet them, dear Kagome. Please, Sango is a mystery to me and I'd really like to know her. You getting to know Inuyasha will be good, too!" Miroku pleaded, his hands clasped together. "I swear I won't grope you or the girls anymore if you do!"

"…fine," Kagome relented. "But only because you won't grope us anymore!" She wasn't fooling anyone. Truth is, Kagome really _did _want to know Inuyasha better. She could only imagine what he had gone through being a half demon, and she was curious about his life and his friendship with Sango.

_Maybe, if I get to know him well enough, my wish to understand what goes on his mind might come true!_


	2. プロット

_プロット (purotto) - secretly make plans to carry out_

"Oi, Sango! Your lech stalker is staring at us again."

"Houshi isn't a stalker until he follows me home, we've gone over this, Inuyasha." Sango resisted the urge to roll her mocha eyes, as she was in the midst of reapplying her pink eyeshadow. _I'm nearly out of this shade, I need to get more soon, _she thought idly to herself.

"Keh, he stalks you around school. Same deal." Inuyasha scowled, looking over at her. "I'll steal some of Sesshomaru's eyeshadow for you."

"No way, I am _not_ wearing anything that belongs to that bastard," Sango scowled, putting her eyeshadow and compact mirror away.

"Fair enough." His hands behind his head, Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned back on the tree trunk, taking in a deep breath. He recognized Sango's scent immediately, followed by a lot of other scents he really didn't care for.

"You undid the braid I did for you this morning," Sango noticed, reaching over and tugging at one of his silver forelocks. "I actually went through a lot of trouble of doing that."

"Feh, yeah right. You just wanted an excuse to touch my hair," Inuyasha accused. Sango smirked. "True." She leaned over and tweaked an ear. "It's so soft; you really don't deserve such silky hair."

"Whatever." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Suddenly, his demeanor changed. His eyes softened, and he leaned forward, putting a hand on her knee. His voice was soft too, as he asked, "How's the search going?"

Sango's demeanor changed, as well. She slumped, and she put her hand over his, tapping his claws. "Still nothing. I don't know how much more of this I can handle, Inuyasha," she whispered.

"Oi, cheer up, Sango. Aunt Shina's in charge of the search, and she always does her job exceptionally well." Inuyasha squeezed her knee. "Now come on, we have to continue to be tortured out of our fucking minds in the wonderful place called school."

Sango nodded and got up, brushing off any dirt on her skirt and grabbing her bag. Inuyasha stood up as well and they left together back into the building. They didn't talk, but that was okay. They didn't need words to know what the other was thinking.

###

"No, Miroku."

"But it's a good idea!"

"I said _no_, Miroku!" Kagome was tempted to throw her textbook at him. But alas, she was in a public place and could not. What a pity. "For the last time, stalking them both home isn't a good idea!"

"It is not _stalking,_ dear Kagome! It's merely making sure they get there safe," Miroku smiled sincerely.

"It's still stalking if we're hidden! Besides, I thought what you wanted was to get to know Sango, not make her hate you for being such a lecherous pig," Kagome hissed out in a whisper. The librarian was passing and she was _not_ taking any chances for the sweet yet temperamental man to kick them out.

Under the pretense that they were doing homework, Kagome and Miroku were at the public library making plans on how to approach the mysterious duo, but so far all that has happened is Kagome losing brain cells because of all the face-palming she's been doing. No offense to Miroku, but as much of a strategist he is he wasn't taking this seriously yet.

Kagome knew her close friend. He was secretly anxious over this ordeal so he was making up these dumb ideas to distract himself. Once he calmed down, he would actually suggest something that would work.

As if on cue, Miroku tapped his chin thoughtfully. "What classes do you have with Sango alone? No Inuyasha?"

"Um…" Kagome tried to remember all of them. "I have history with her, both Japanese and English…that's it."

"Try to approach her during one of your classes. Talk to her, ease her into trusting you. I'll do the same. She's a private person that keeps to herself but better doing that with her than Inuyasha. If she likes us then she'll let us hang out and Inuyasha would, of course, be included. We will grow on him, and bam, we are friends with them."

"See, _that's_ a good idea!" Kagome clapped her hands together, smiling. "Was that so hard?"

"Shut up, Kagome."

Miroku hit her pencil with his own, and soon enough they were in an all out pencil-sword fight. Giggling, Kagome was about to call it a truce when someone cleared their throat.

Flushing, Miroku turned to face the person who had interrupted their battle. It was, quite honestly, the last person he had expected. "Inuyasha…?" He blinked slowly.

"You going to check out that book or not?" the hanyou huffed, pointing to the closed book at Miroku's elbow that he had pulled out in order to feign studying.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, moving his arm. "No, no, take it." Miroku looked it over, noting the title: Classical Weaponry of Japan. Shaking his head quickly to clear it, he handed it over to Inuyasha. "I didn't know you were into weaponry, Inuyasha."

"Keh! The book ain't for me, monk. It's for Sango," Inuyasha grumbled, nearly snatching the book out of Miroku's hand.

"Don't lie, you're into weaponry as much as I am, Inuyasha." Sango slid out of no where, a small plastic bag in one hand, the other grabbing the book. Inuyasha eyed the bag with distaste. "…you were noble again and refused to use the money I gave you to buy that eyeshadow, weren't you?"

"I used it to get you something, actually," Sango replied with mock superiority, before looking over at them. "Hello, Miroku, Kagome."

"Sango, nice to see you," Kagome finally managed out, cheering internally. For a few minutes ever since Inuyasha's unexpected arrival she had been shocked, and to her horror captivated by the way his long silver hair (_it's longer than mine! That's not fair!_) looked as it was held back in a braid, forelocks still sitting on his shoulders.

"Likewise. Just getting a book for reference for that essay on history," Sango gave them all a small smile then turned back to look at Inuyasha, her eyebrows furrowing. "Fine, fine, we're going back home. It was great to see you, guys. I'll see you two in class tomorrow." Following Inuyasha, who had gotten ahead, Miroku and Kagome caught a bit of their conversation.

"Think your parents will mind if I stay just one more night? I don't want to be a bother."

"Keh, my mother loves you like fuck, so calm down. You practically already live there, anyways, with your own customized room and shit. And clothing? You have brought over enough clothes to last you for fucking months and you steal mine all the time, I'm running out of shirts and hoodies to wear."

"Oh, stop being so grumpy. Your shirts and hoodies are comfy and there's no way in hell I would wear your asshole brother's oversized shirts no matter how silky-"

That was all they heard before the duo was too far away for them to hear anything. "…it might've just been my imagination, but I _think_ they were just talking about how Sango unofficially lives with him and his family," Kagome processed out loud slowly, trying to gauge what was going on. It _sounded_ like they were dating, but she was friends with Inuyasha's ex-girlfriend, and the only complaint Kikyo ever had was that Inuyasha couldn't express his feelings properly.

"See?! Mysterious! Doesn't that make you want to know their back story, Kagome?" Miroku gestured with his hand to where they had disappeared to. "But I was surprised to see that Inuyasha wasn't growling at us like he normally does around, well, everyone."

Kagome tugged at the rat-tail Miroku always had to hold back his somewhat long hair. "Who are we to judge how Inuyasha acts like? We don't know anything about him. Maybe he growls at everyone for a reason. Maybe he was hurt or something. We don't know."

"And that's what we're trying to find out." Miroku smiled at her. "So, you talk to Sango…"

###

"Kagome, Kagome!" Yuka tugged at Kagome's arm, hard enough to make it feel like it was being pulled out of its socket.

"What is it, Yuka?" Kagome winced, rubbing her shoulder. That seriously _hurt_. Sometimes she forgot just how strong Yuka could be when she wanted to be.

"Sesshomaru Takahashi is walking past these lockers! He never does that!" Yuka hissed at her, staring at the dog demon that was practically gliding across the hallway like he owned the place - which, considering the family he belonged in, was sort of true.

Sesshomaru Takahashi was Inuyasha's older, full demon, half-brother on their father's side. All Kagome knew about him was that he was in twelfth grade - his third and final year of high school - practically every girl in school had a crush on his beautiful self, he was as cold as the North Pole, and his only friend was Kagura Kaze, the sassy wind sorceress.

"He's so beautiful," Yuka sighed dreamily. Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In her own opinion, Inuyasha was much more attractive. Then again, Kagome always liked it when a guy showed, you know, _actual emotions._ And Inuyasha, despite those feelings being negative, always showed emotion.

Kagome then jumped, hearing a snort come from across of her. "Jackass spends the entire morning in the bathroom to look that pretty," she heard muttered. Kagome turned to see Sango kneeling to get to her locker, practically stuffing her books in as she glowered at Sesshomaru.

_Sango doesn't like Sesshomaru?_ That was a surprise. You'd think that she would like her best friend's brother. Then again, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru didn't exactly get along if all the rumors were true - which they were. Kagome could sense their demonic auras going up whenever the other was around, and they glared at each other constantly.

The priestess quickly shook her head to clear it, and glanced at Sango again. The demon slayer was shouldering her backpack, now ignoring Sesshomaru as he stroll past, Kagura at his side. Kagura glanced at Sango and rolled her eyes, and Sango returned the gesture.

_Hm. Maybe they both know it feels like to deal with a Takahashi man._ She resisted the urge to giggle.

Kagome finally looked over at Yuka, who was still gaga over the tall dog demon. "He might be more dashing if he smiled more - or at all, your pick."

"Kagome!" Yuka hissed at her, but the priestess was concentrating on the fact that Sango was covering her mouth to not let her giggles be heard. _She heard me! _Kagome didn't know whether to be embarrassed or glad._ I'll go with glad,_ she decided. After all, Sango did laugh at her comment, and not in a mean way.

Head feeling light, Kagome watched as Sango left the lockers and walked down the hall, joined by Inuyasha a few seconds later. She then ran to Miroku's locker to tell him what she had learned about Sango.


	3. 実行する

_実行する (jikkō suru) - carry out or put into effect (a plan, order, or course of action)._

"Are you ready for this, Kagome?" Miroku asked, twirling his pen in his hands. It was a habit he acquired after years of carrying a monk's staff, but since he couldn't use it throughout the day it was kept in a special locker, following school rules. The pen twirling helped bring his mind down from any sense of trepidation, but the office supply didn't make that soothing noise that his ringed staff made, though.

"Yes. At least, I _think_ I am. I'm really, really nervous for their reactions, but I know it has to happen so... Yes, I'm ready." Kagome let out a breath. Shit. She was babbling. Not a good sign.

"Kagome, calm down." Miroku put a hand on her shoulder.

"Right." She took a deep breath. "Sorry, Miroku."

"It's alright, I'd be nervous too if I were going to talk to a pretty woman like Sango," Said Miroku, the charming grin he wore easily heard in his voice. Kagome rolled her eyes at him and shouldered her backpack easily. "Remind me again why I'm the one talking to Sango while you try to ease your way into Inuyasha?"

"Because Inuyasha has a temper and attitude and you have no patience," he answered frankly.

"I do too have patience! Especially with you!" she accused, glaring at him.

"Patience for what I do and patience for how he acts are two different things. You don't tolerate bad attitudes, Kagome, and Inuyasha probably has the biggest attitude in school," Miroku pointed out. "I, on the other hand, am good at hiding my annoyance." At the priestess' mumbling he knew he had won the argument and smiled. "Besides, Sango and you are already in good terms, right?"

"Uh huh." Kagome bit her lip. "But enough to ask to sit with them at lunch?"

"_Yes._ Don't go chickening out on me, Kagome!"

"Alright, alright!" As if on cue, the bell rung. Kagome gestured for him to follow her. "Come on, we have Japanese first thing. Not like you pay any attention. Oh, I've noticed it, you lech. You're always staring at Sango's butt!" She accused, her index finger pointing straight at the "holy" culprit.

"You wound me, Kagome. I'd like to have you know that I get passing grades in Japanese, thank you very much!" Miroku sniffed faintly.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, Miroku." She said, pushing and shoving against the crowded staircase to their destination.

###

_"I'm sorry, Ms. Taijiya, your parents were found dead-"_

_"Your brother's in the hospital. He was-"_

_"Do you have somewhere to stay? As a minor-"_

_"She's staying with me."_

"Sango?"

Sango blinked suddenly, looking up from her notebook. "Huh?" Not the most eloquent response, but considering she had been mindlessly taking notes on vocabulary that she couldn't even remember taking, she thought she did pretty well.

"The bell's going to ring any minute now. And you know how our teacher is." The girl who called her name looked down at the demon slayer a bit nervously, her raven hair seemed almost blue with the classroom light shining down. But Sango took no notice. _Kagome._ What was nice, friendly, likable Kagome doing over here?

Don't get her wrong, it's not like Sango dislikes Kagome. She was just confused. Sango was a reserved person - not an outcast like Inuyasha was, but reserved and quiet. Technically, she could be considered an outcast because her best friend is a hanyou, but she threw all caring to the wind when she befriended him. Her parents taught her that yes, demon slaying was about exterminating the demons that terrorize the public, but that there were good demons too, such as Inutaisho Takahashi - and Sango found out that his hanyou son was a good demon with a human heart.

_"I'm your friend now, okay?"_

_"…feh."_

Sango smiled fondly and shook her head. "Sorry, Kagome, my head is in the clouds today. Do you need something?"

"Oh no, not really, I just wanted to talk to you, that's all. Mind if I sit down?" Kagome fidgeted, gesturing to the empty chair next to Sango.

"Uh, sure." Suspicions rising, Sango watched Kagome as she took a seat. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Kagome bit her lip. _How do I start? Oh I'm going to_ kill _Miroku, I don't have the guts to do this!_ Taking a deep breath, Kagome started. "I…I really admire you, Sango. I've always thought you were really cool and strong and brave and I thought it'd be amazing to be able to speak to you and actually get to know you but I was so scared to because-"

"Because of Inuyasha?" Sango's nut brown eyes hardened.

"No, no! Not in the way you're thinking!" Kagome quickly got herself together. _Babbling will make it worse, Higurashi! Come on, you can do this!_ _You've been telling the truth, now continue to tell the truth!_ "I was so scared to because I thought you were too good for little me to hang around with. Inuyasha's strong and brave like you, and…" She trailed off. _Alright, girl, you already said enough truth. Don't let it slip you've got a huge crush on her best friend that started because of his ears!_

Sango blinked. "Wait, so you're telling me you didn't talk to me like you wanted too…because you thought you weren't worthy enough?"

"…kinda?" Kagome winced.

"Kagome, you have nothing to worry about with me! I'm nothing but a demon slayer with a half-demon as a best friend. There's nothing special about that." Sango shook her head, chuckling softly. "Trust me."

"Agree to disagree, then," Kagome compromised. "So... can we chat?"

"Of course!"

They spent the rest of the bell talking about their experiences in demon killing - Sango, obviously, having more experience, but Kagome had taken out one or two who decided to attack at her shrine - until the bell rung. Sango stood up and grabbed her notebook and bag. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Kagome. I really enjoyed it!" Sango smiled, and found that she truly did - as much as she cared for Inuyasha and enjoyed his presence- a presence that's become reassuring, she realized- it was nice to talk to another girl.

"I did too! Do you think we can continue it sometime? Say…during lunch?" Kagome bit her lip, staring up at the slighter taller girl. _Please say yes, please say yes…_

"…if you're okay with Inuyasha sulking about it, I don't see that much of a problem…" Sango agreed hesitantly. Nice talk or not, lunch was her time to talk with her best friend, who she barely saw throughout the school day. But Kagome was nice, and it _could_ do Inuyasha some good, knowing that an unbiased priestess existed, especially after… _no... not going there,_ Sango ended bitterly.

"That's fine!" Kagome smiled widely and grabbed her bag. "I'll see you at lunch then, Sango!" She rushed out - as happy as she was with her progress with Sango, her math class was a few classrooms away and she would much rather prefer not being late to the torture- I mean math class.

As she entered the room and took her seat next to Eri, she looked up to see Inuyasha walk into the class, sulking more so than he usually did. He plopped down in his usual seat, scowling out the window. Remembering that her monk friend had had the class before this one with Inuyasha, Kagome prayed that Miroku hadn't done something to piss Inuyasha off.

###

Miroku had in fact done nothing to piss Inuyasha off, yet he did accomplish seriously confusing him, leading the half-demon Takahashi to sulk like he was in math class.

In Miroku's defense, he was doing pretty well until Inuyasha figured out the fact that Miroku had a pretty huge crush on his best friend.

Having an English class with a teacher that was dating the other English teacher really benefited sometimes, especially when you were trying to break down the defenses of one stubborn hanyou.

"Houshi, is there any reason why you're annoying _me_ and not someone else?" Inuyasha snapped, turning to look at the shorter man.

"I'm just thinking that you might benefit from having a male around, Inuyasha, nothing more, nothing less," Miroku smiled serenely, as if he had an angel's halo hovering above his head.

"Bullshit. This is all you trying to get into my good graces to get into Sango's pants, isn't it?" Inuyasha scowled. "That's what all you perverts are after when you talk to me."

Miroku stopped, staring at Inuyasha in realization. Unnerved, the hanyou snapped, "Whatcha staring at me like that for?"

"Was Sango really the first person to actually treat you like a person, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha did his best to not flinch at Miroku's question - yet considering the knowing look in his indigo eyes it was more of a fact than a question - and did his best to not remember the way Sango sounded when she had asked him a question almost like the one Miroku just asked.

_"Inuyasha, you've had at least one friend, right?"_

"…keh, why would you care, monk?" Inuyasha muttered, slouching in his chair.

"As brash as you act, Inuyasha, I believe you have a noble heart. You did appear in the news because you saved a child from a burning building a few weeks ago, after all," Miroku pointed out. "I have to admit, I admire you, Inuyasha."

And suddenly, Miroku realized that what he was saying _wasn't_ a lie. He _did_ admire Inuyasha for many things - for his strength, for his acts of kindness that always ended up on the news somehow. He couldn't forget the way Inuyasha was around Sango - giving her money for eyeshadow, making sure she stayed in his home, protecting her. What Miroku felt whenever Inuyasha was mentioned wasn't intimidation like he first thought, but _admiration_.

Miroku _did_ want to know Inuyasha, only in a different way from which he wanted to know Sango.

"With that off my chest, would you mind if I sit with you at lunch today? I can't pass up the opportunity to know what's behind that rude and brash attitude of yours," Miroku concluded, leaning back on his chair. Though calm and collected on the outside, the only signs of nervousness was his twirling of the pen in his hand, in the inside he was secretly freaking out.

"…feh, do whatever you want, monk." Seriously confused, Inuyasha was grateful when the bell rung. He grabbed his bag quickly and stood up, getting out of the room as quickly as possible.

Thus was the reason why Inuyasha Takahashi spent most of math class not paying attention - believe it or not, he was really good with numbers - and instead sulking, staring out the window as Kagome bit her lip, anxiously waiting for lunch to come.

Once the bell rang, Kagome gave Eri a quick excuse explaining why she wasn't sitting with her and her other friends like usual. ("Miroku and I have to study for Biology, we need concentration…") Kagome fidgeted awkwardly as she stood. _You can do this, girl. Come on…_

Inuyasha was standing up, too, still sulking, and only looked up when Sango entered the room. She didn't look like she was in a very happy mood as she looked to her friend and inquired, "Why is Houshi following me? He says you invited him to lunch."

"Keh. Told him to do whatever he wanted. Didn't think he'd go through with it," Inuyasha shrugged.

Sango sighed. "Might as well, since I agreed to let Kagome do the same."

Miroku waved to Kagome behind the duo. "Hi, Kagome."

"Hey, Miroku. You haven't been a lech to Sango yet, have you?" Kagome raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Not so much, no," Miroku held his hands up in a sign of peace, and he heard the deep growls in Inuyasha's throat at the comment.

"Miroku!" Kagome stalked over and grabbed his ear. "I've told you, stop it!"

"Ow, Kagome! You're not my mother, you know! I'm a responsible person-"

"Could've had me fooled!"

The tension in the air was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, or rather... was that laughter?

Indeed Sango's chuckling filled the air, and Kagome and Miroku glanced at each other somewhat nervously. "Doesn't this look familiar, Inuyasha?" she asked, sending an amused glance towards the youngest Takahashi.

"You mean every damn time I do something stupid and you make sure I don't forget I did? The ears are sensitive, you know!" Inuyasha retorted. "It's even worse when Amaya is around…"

"But your ears are silky and Amaya is worse, so be grateful she lives way out east," the demon slayer countered, smirking at Inuyasha's "feh" before the hanyou turned around and started to leave the classroom, Sango at his side. "Well, are you two coming or not? I'm hungry and I'm not waiting for you!" he called to the dumbfounded pair behind him.

Miroku and Kagome exchanged looks. The monk shrugged after a moment, and grinned widely. "Wouldn't want to keep him waiting, now, do we?"

"Of course not," Kagome agreed, and they followed the strange duo out of the classroom in step.

_Hopefully this doesn't backfire on us…_


	4. 仲良くなる

_仲良くなる (nakayokunaru) - act as a friend to (someone) by offering help or support._

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, dodging the players trying to grab him, turning around halfway. After easily locating Sango, he stopped dribbling just long enough to toss the ball to her. The demon slayer grabbed it easily and jumped, shooting the object above the heads of the defenders and managing to make it go through the basket.

The buzzer went off. The crowd erupted into cheers.

Hearing the chaos, Inuyasha smirked, walking over to Sango and pulling her up, letting her sit on his lifted bicep. Sango laughed and kept a hand on one of his ears, playing with it. "What's this for?" she asked lowly, knowing that his ears would pick it up.

"Feh, felt like it." Inuyasha smirked up at her. "And to give the lech and Kagome a better look at the winner."

"Inuyasha!" Sango tugged one of his forelocks, blushing. "Put me down!"

"Keh," was all her best friend said, and he started to walk back to the sidelines, where an eager miko and a smiling monk was waiting for them. "You two were great!" Kagome clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Thanks, Kagome." Sango smiled down at her new friend, urging Inuyasha to put her back down by tugging on his ear once more. He pouted at her but complied, stretching idly.

"Good work, my friend." Miroku smiled at Inuyasha before turning to Sango, grabbing her hands in his. "And so did you, my lovely Sango."

Sango's eyebrow twitched at him, and she gave him a forced smile. "Thanks, Miroku. Now please stop trying to pull me closer. I know you're planning to grope my behind."

"But my dear-"

At Inuyasha's warning growl and Kagome's glare Miroku sighed and let go of Sango's hands. "I'm so misunderstood," he despaired.

"Sure you are, Houshi," Inuyasha snorted, rolling his eyes and turning around, beginning to walk away. "I'm going to get something to drink."

"Hey, can you get me a-?" Sango began to call after him, but he waved his hand and said, "Yeah, yeah, bubblegum-flavored Ramune, I know."

"I'm going to go lend him a hand. I know he just loves to buy all that ramen as a 'snack'," Kagome told Miroku and Sango quickly, rushing after the half-demon and calling his name. Sango walked with amusement as her seemingly uncaring best friend stopped, half turning to look at Kagome and then taking off as soon as she reached his side. _'Don't care about what she does' my ass, Inuyasha._

Miroku beamed after Kagome, glad she had given him this time with Sango alone before turning to face the demon slayer. "So, I'm assuming you train with something other than Hirakotsu?"

"What?" Sango glanced at him, absentmindedly wiping off her sweat with a towel. Miroku could bless the gods with the beautiful image she gave - those arms and legs showing just how much strength she had, her long slender neck in view, and her long hair was up in a ponytail.

"I saw how you were playing over there." Miroku leaned against the bench, looking down at her. "With every move, you were calculating; you judged what the other players were doing before coming up with the correct counterattack. In other words, you were training by playing basketball."

Sango's eyes widened, and a totally irrational blush threatened to rise to her face. _Why am I blushing? It's not like he's saying anything romantic! And I don't even_ like him _in that way, not in the way Inuyasha loved Kikyo- okay I am_ not _going there._

Shaking herself mentally, Sango just nodded. "Yeah. I try to train myself in every way possible - even if it's stupid like doing it in basketball or even school. But it helps."

"I don't think its stupid," Miroku disagreed. "It's a very smart way. I'm assuming you'll be continuing to be doing demon hunting after college?"

"Of course. I told Inuyasha to not pull any 'behind the scenes' strings to get me a job in the police force, and I am using his fear of intense ear pulling to make sure he doesn't," Sango snorted. "That idiot."

"And yet he's your best friend," Miroku pointed out, seeing a golden window to inquire about her relationship (or lack of) with Inuyasha. "Why is he is your best friend if he's such an idiot in your eyes?"

Sango stopped folding her towel, hands stilling. He was concerned with the amount of emotions dancing through her eyes - fear, grief, panic - before she took a deep breath, and as she let all the air out, the emotions in her eyes cleared to be replaced with fondness. "Because he's just there. He understands things about me that sometimes _I_ don't even know. He's smarter than he acts, you know."

"That I have no doubt about," Miroku agreed, slightly disappointed. It certainly _sounded_ like they were truly together, but…something in their dynamic was missing that proved that they were, indeed, a couple. But what was it? They were already protective of each other, no doubt about it, and knew each other well enough, but _what_? What was missing?

"Uh…Miroku? You okay in there?" Sango waved a hand in front of his face, frowning slightly. Startled, the monk jumped, running into the bench and falling over. Groaning, he lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his head from where he had landed. Embarrassed, he looked up to look at Sango, to see the demon slayer with a hand over her mouth as her body shook from trying to keep in her laughter.

"Are you- are you okay?" she managed to ask after taking her hand away from her mouth, but she was pursing her lips and they kept tilting up.

Miroku sighed, his own smile playing on his lips. "You can laugh, I know I look stupid."

Sango didn't need to be told twice, bursting out into laughter that had her doubled over, holding her stomach. "I'm sorry!" she gasped out, holding out a hand for him to take. Smirking, he took it and accepted her help into standing back out. "You looked ridiculous, I couldn't help it!"

"Quite _aware_ of that," Miroku nudged her with his elbow. "But because you're so lovely, I'll forgive you." He gave her a charming smile.

Sango, as expected, rolled her eyes, but he could have _sworn_ he saw a blush decorating her cheeks.

_Hmmm._

Miroku smirked.

###

When imagining standing alone in a line alone with Inuyasha Takahashi, Kagome had always thought that silence would have been the most awkward thing to happen. But surprisingly, it wasn't. It was comfortable, standing next to each other without having the need to talk. All the way up to the line they had been talking - well, Kagome had been talking, but she could tell Inuyasha had been listening, because he would interject and ask questions in the middle of her story.

Now they were just silent, as Inuyasha idly looked at the menu of the food cart and Kagome looking around in awe. The school had gone all out for this festival - people could play in whatever sport they wanted to, could eat as much food as they wanted, and watch plays and hear the choir. It was a really nice change from normal.

Once they reached the front of the line to order, Inuyasha was the first to speak. "Three Ramunes - one bubblegum and two watermelon, and a C.C. Lemon. And a cup of ramen and a pack of oden with that."

Kagome's eyes widened and she stared at him as the guy in the food cart got all that ready.

Inuyasha, unnerved by her staring, snapped, "What? I was just ordering."

"How did you know I like C.C. Lemon and oden?" Kagome asked him, confused. She hadn't told him that - Miroku knew because every time he would come over Kagome's mother would make oden and Kagome would freak out over it - but she had never told Inuyasha. How did he…_wait is that pink on Inuyasha's face_.

"Keh. You're always eating oden at lunch, and normally buy a C.C. Lemon. Thought it was obvious," he muttered, looking away from her pointedly. Yep, that was definitely a blush on his face. He actually looked quite adorable.

She beamed. There was no way…but all the evidence pointed to it. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Keh," Inuyasha murmured, handing over a the amount of yen it cost for the food. He gathered the food and two of the drinks while Kagome grabbed the remaining two. They turned and began to walk back towards the basketball court where Miroku and Sango were waiting.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked hesitantly. "I was just wondering…"

"What?" he replied gruffly, balancing the drinks on top of his pack of ramen as he pocketed his wallet.

"How did you meet Sango?" she blurted out.

Inuyasha paused just for a second, before continuing walking. Kagome followed him, biting her lip nervously. _Did I cross a line? I didn't mean too! I just wanted to know, because they know each other so well…_

Kagome's inner thoughts boiled as he remained silent. The pause went on for so long that Kagome almost changed the subject, but then he spoke up. "It was because she was being an idiot."

"Eh?" Sango, an idiot? That was hard to believe. She was always so composed and logical, the perfect foil to someone brash such as Inuyasha.

He shrugged. "She was being an idiot and I had to help her. Just went from there." He looked vaguely uncomfortable, looking straight ahead instead of at her. It was obvious he was not used to sharing this much information about his past.

"Oh." Kagome gnawed at her lip again. "Sorry I asked. I can tell talking about your past is uncomfortable for you."

"Feh. Sango keeps tellin' me to open up more, so I might as well." He glanced at her and shrugged, making her giggle. They continued the rest of the walk in a comfortable silence like before, and Kagome was okay with that.

_So Inuyasha is a giant dork after all._


	5. 秘密

_秘密 __(himitsu) - the action of keeping something secret or the state of being kept secret_

Saturdays_ used _to be Inuyasha's favorite day of the week.

However, this had changed when Kohaku was kidnapped from his hospital bed on the exact same day. It just sucked now.

Inuyasha, as always, woke up - wide awake - at 6:00 am sharp, and immediately sighed. He rolled off of the sofa in his bedroom, going immediately to his bathroom to take a quick shower. He moved automatically, dressing in some nice jeans and a button down red shirt. He brushed his teeth, wrinkling his nose at the terrible taste of the mint toothpaste, spitting it out as soon as he could.

He tried to take as much as time as he could, but he had to eventually go over to his bed and shake awake the girl asleep in it.

"Sango. Shower's free." Sango tried to hide in the covers, and Inuyasha let out a frustrated sigh. "We have to go to the police station today, Sango. You know that."

"I don't wanna," she mumbled, trying to hide under the covers.

"Sango. Aunt Shina might have some new information." Inuyasha shook her slightly. "You aren't the only one worried, ya know."

Sango sat up, looking down at her hands, which were balled up into the sheets. "I know. I just…" she trailed off.

_Want to escape the reality of it,_ Inuyasha could finish in his head. She didn't need to continue her sentence. He knew her well enough to be able to read her thoughts front, backward, and sideways.

"I'll just go take my shower now." Sango rolled out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, forgetting her change of clothes. Sighing, Inuyasha had go to Sango's own room to grab her the clothes she had forgotten. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and he was no longer fazed at seeing her more private clothing. Not after everything they'd been through. And definitely not after everything she'd been through.

_"Sango? Where- Sango?! Holy shit, what happened to you?!"_

_"I-Inuyasha…Kohaku…he's…"_

_"Hold still, idiot! I gotta call 119 and 110!"_

Inuyasha shook his head and brought the clothes to the door of the bathroom before entering the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Morning, Inuyasha," Kagura yawned as she prepared a coffee.

"Hi. Stayed over again, did ya?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I keep Sesshomaru out of your hair, don't I?" Kagura waved a spoon at the half-demon. "And Sango is over all the time."

"Sango lives here now. You have a family, and siblings and shit to go back to. She doesn't. Don't compare her to you," he barked gruffly, his defenses rising immediately for Sango.

"Down, puppy. I get it." Kagura pointed to the tray that held a plate of toast with marmalade, a banana, blueberry yogurt, and a cup of coffee on the side. "Your mother left that for Sango."

Inuyasha nodded, grabbing the tray to take to his room. "Thanks, Kagura."

Kagura just sighed. "Hope you guys find something. The girl needs it."

Inuyasha nodded again, going up to his room. Being the only friends of the Takahashi brothers, Kagura and Sango understood one another. They weren't the closest of friends, but they respected one another and would defend the other if needed. And Kagura wasn't bad, Inuyasha had to admit - she put Sesshomaru in his place most of the time.

By the time he got to his bedroom again, Sango was already out and clothed. She was brushing her hair, lost in thought.

"Oi. Breakfast." He set the tray down next to her, going to his own kitchenette to prepare some ramen. Who didn't want ramen for breakfast?

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Sango's soft voice killed him. He was always angry when he remembered that he was used to this soft, weak voice, and he shouldn't be. Sango was strong, and confident. Before, when she had shown him her weaknesses, he had felt proud that she could trust him with it.

Now, he'd give anything to make this particular weakness be solved.

"Keh. I'll go put more money on our IC cards." God knows they needed to, with how frequent these trips to the police station were.

Sango nodded and began to eat. Inuyasha had to cover up his sigh. _This is gonna be a long, worry-filled day._

_###_

Kagome could never stop thanking the person who decided to give them both Saturday and Sunday off.

"Oh, this is nice," Kagome sighed out.

"Kagome please stop moaning into your burger. It's vaguely disturbing."

"Shut up, Miroku."

It was one of those perfect days in which she was allowed to sleep in, go out, and eat WacDonald's with her close friend. Kagome couldn't be happier as she stuffed her face with a delicious burger.

Miroku shook his head at her as he dipped his french fries in sauce, looking out the window without really thinking.

And then he started choking on said fry.

"What's wrong with you, Miroku?" Kagome paused. "More than usual, I mean."

"Haha. Look out the window, towards the police station," Miroku urged. Thinking it was an attractive woman that had caught his eye, Kagome looked over with no interest, taking a sip of her milkshake.

And promptly spat it out.

Across from WacDonald's was the police station - and coming out of it was both Sango and Inuyasha. From what Kagome could see, Sango looked miserable, while Inuyasha just looked pissed. He exchanged words with someone still inside the station before grabbing Sango's shoulders and leading her out.

"What are they doing at the police station?" Kagome asked frantically. "Did they get arrested? Oh Kami, did Inuyasha do something stupid and dragged Sango into it? What if—"

"Calm down, Kagome." Miroku wiped the shake she had spat out with a napkin. "I sincerely doubt that they've gotten in trouble. Inuyasha would never do something stupid enough to get arrested with Sango around. There must be an explanation."

"Right." Kagome bit her lip as she stared at the duo. Inuyasha was leading Sango to WacDonald's, and both Kagome and Miroku sighed in relief. That made tracking them down a lot easier.

Kagome stood up and waved at them as they entered. "Inuyasha! Sango!"

The two of them looked over. Inuyasha urged Sango over there, and only when she began to walk over did he get in line to order.

"Hey." Sango gave them a sad smile, sliding into the booth next to Miroku. He scooted down to make more room, ending up next to Kagome. Kagome noticed Sango's usually perfect eye makeup was severely lacking today.

"Hey, Sango. You okay?" Kagome asked softly.

"Not my best day," she admitted. "But I'll be fine. I promise."

"Glad to hear." Miroku gave her a relieved smile and tactfully changed the subject, asking Sango about the books he had lent her the other day.

A short while afterwards, Inuyasha put down a tray of food in front of Sango, sliding in next to her. "Eat," he ordered.

Sango glared at him before picking up a box of chicken nuggets and opening it almost defiantly. Kagome swore she saw Inuyasha sigh in relief.

"So do you two come here often?" Miroku asked, finishing his fries as slowly as possible.

"It's a weekly thing." Inuyasha nearly inhaled his huge cheeseburger, smacking his lips together afterwards. Kagome wondered how big his mouth was to fit that much cheeseburger into it.

"We go to the gym after this," Sango explained. "It's how we don't feel guilty about eating all those carbs. Or, at least, me." She glared at her best friend.

"Not my fault my metabolism is different from yours," Inuyasha said smugly.

It was like they hadn't even been to the police station that morning. Kagome and Miroku exchanged glances.

_You ask,_ Kagome's eyes pleaded.

_No, you,_ Miroku's face denied.

_Why?!_

_Because you're the one they'll answer to! And you know it!_

"So…" Kagome slurped on her milkshake as she tried to think of a tactful way of asking. But seriously, how do you tactfully ask someone why they were at a police station!?

"Oi, Kagome, slow down on that milkshake," Inuyasha barked, leaning over to push her drink down. "Your sensitive stomach will just throw it back up."

"Oh." Kagome's face flushed. Without actually saying it, Inuyasha was basically proclaiming that he was worried about her health. "Thank you."

"That was very generous of you, Inuyasha," Miroku teased.

"Shut up, monk."

Sango chuckled softly to herself, and this time Kagome _saw_ Inuyasha's eyes, filled with relief, flicker over to Sango.

_Something is _definitely_ up._ Kagome cleared her throat and began, "Is everything alright with you two? We saw you exit the police station earlier."

Sango stiffened for a moment, but quickly relaxed - or rather, _forced_ herself to relax.

"Keh. Was something important, wench." Inuyasha took a bite of the second cheeseburger, his eyes conveying the message: _Drop it._

They didn't mention it for the rest of the lunch.

###

"They're keeping something from us." Miroku fiddled with his staff, listening to the clinging of the rings on top.

"Well, everyone's entitled to a secret or two," Kagome replied, sharpening the tip of her arrow. After leaving WacDonald's, Miroku and Kagome had decided to go to her shrine's training grounds to talk about what had happened. To make it believable, Miroku had grabbed his staff and Kagome her bow and arrows.

Miroku frowned. "But one that involved a visit to the police station?"

"Look, I want to know what happened as badly as you do. And yes, I'm worried sick about them. But we are in new territory in our friendship with them. I want it to grow so that they can trust us enough to tell us themselves." Kagome stood up and grabbed her bow, notching the newly-sharpened arrow. Taking a deep breath, she took aim and fired.

It hit right in the middle of one of the many trees in her backyard.

"When did you get so wise?" Miroku asked, looking at the arrow in the tree with a pleased smile.

"You must be rubbing off me." Kagome smiled at the high school monk. "Or I'm just super wise and you never noticed because of your big ego," she added as an afterthought.

"Shut up, Kagome."

###

"Do you think we should've told them?"

A huge fang-sword was clashed against a boomerang-shaped demon bone with a loud _boom_.

"Told them what? The reason why we were in the police station?" Inuyasha snorted. "That is up to you."

"Kohaku isn't just important to me, he's just as important to you and Mrs. Izayoi and Mr. Taisho—" Sango protested before being interrupted.

"But Kohaku is _your_ brother," Inuyasha countered. "The teachers aren't aware, much less the students. If you want Kagome and Miroku to know, then I'll support ya."

Sango blocked another swing from Tetsusaiga. "I don't want them to pity me," she finally said. "But maybe someday I will."

"I'll support ya. Remember to keep your phone fully charged - Aunt Shina's gonna keep you posted, and so will I."

"Tell her to send Amaya here west to make me feel better," Sango half-joked.

"Oi, am I not good enough for ya?" Inuyasha blocked another attack from Sango.

Sango stopped, and Inuyasha did too, mildly worried. He sheathed his sword. "Sango…?" he said hesitantly.

Sango dropped Hirakotsu and hugged him tightly. Inuyasha stood awkwardly, his socially awkward self emerging for a moment, before his _is Sango's best friend_ self came out and he hugged her back. She was shaking like a twig.

"You're _more_ than good enough," she whispered into his chest. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Keh." Inuyasha's eyes conveyed a different message.

_We're always there for each other. This is no different from that, Sango._


	6. 訪問

_訪問 (hōmon) - to go to and stay with (a person or family) or at (a place) for a short time for reasons of sociability, politeness, business, curiosity, etc._

"So, summer break is in a week," Miroku mentioned casually as he ate lunch. They were all under the tree he and Kagome now frequented to eat with Inuyasha and Sango. "Are you two going to do anything special?"

"Binge watch anime," Inuyasha said almost automatically. "I'm done being dragged places by Sango."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Okay, first - I've only dragged you camping. You invited me to Kyoto. And second - you have the money, so use it. But I guess just relaxing to anime will be nice," she admitted. "What are you guys doing?"

"Mostly work around the temple for me. And also visiting Kagome," Miroku said as he nudged the girl's side.

"Only to see Rin." Kagome nearly bounced from her perch on a tree root. "I'm really excited! My cousin, Rin, is transferring over to this school after summer and is staying at my house! She's turning seventeen during vacation, too, which will be great! I haven't seen her in _months_!"

Inuyasha looked down at her from his spot on a branch. His eyes looked so fond that Sango had to clear her throat to remind him he was in company.

"So, she's a second year student?" Sango asked curiously.

"Mhm. She's super energetic and nice, you have to come over some time to meet her!" Kagome bubbled.

It took a minute or two for her to realize what she had just said.

_Did I just ask them to come over to my house? Is it too early in our friendship to ask that? Oh Kami what do I do— _Kagome suddenly became very anxious inside her mind.

"Go to your house? Gee, what an honor, Kagome." It was a new voice that answered.

Kagome sighed, then put on a fake smile after collecting herself from the sudden intrusion. "Hi, Koga. And sorry, the invitation wasn't for you."

Koga Ookami was definitely a handsome wolf demon. He wore his long black hair in a high ponytail and the dark shade was just a perfect highlight that accent those blue eyes eyes of his. Not to mention his perfectly sculpted facial features would make any girl drool at his jawline. However, even with all of these attractive features, Kagome couldn't say she was infatuated with him like most girls could. He was much too forward - a second year who had taken interest in her from day one. And he'd be a good friend, except…

Well, he just so happened to act very prejudiced towards half-demons.

A growl could be heard from the air as Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and faced Koga. "What do you want, wolf-shit?"

"I could ask you the same thing, half-breed."

Kagome's eyes jumped nervously between the two. Inuyasha had protected her from Koga's advancements ever since they'd become friends. Inuyasha always scolded her for being "too nice" to the wolf for Koga to notice she wasn't interested. She didn't think this was true, but considering that Miroku and Sango agreed she decided to then be grateful about Inuyasha's protectiveness. However, whenever she thought of the situation she still couldn't help but start picking at the invisible dirt she had all of a suddenly discovered under her nails.

Sango frowned and pulled her phone upon Koga's arrival. She began to quickly text someone, and moments later, a redheaded wolf demoness ran out towards the group.

"Koga!"

"Ugh. Ayame, what is it?" Koga tapped his foot in annoyance. "Better be important, because I'm in the middle of somethin'!"

"Stop picking fights with Inuyasha just because he's two centimeters taller than you," Ayame ordered, hands on her hips.

Ayame Hana was the first year wolf demoness that had a huge crush on Koga ever since Kagome could remember. Despite that, she was actually really good friends with them, which Kagome was grateful for. The best thing about her was that she didn't take Koga's bullshit.

"I am not two centimeters shorter than mutt-face here!" Koga protested, taken aback by the comment. A hand came up to scratch at a bit of stubble on his upper lip unconsciously. His eyebrows twitched down towards his nose as he huffed angrily.

_Right._ Miroku scoffed quietly, hoping Koga hadn't heard him. He valued his life. And his body in one piece.

"Uhhhh huh," Ayame patronized enthusiastically. "Let's go." She grabbed him by the ear and began to drag him away. "Bye Kagome, Sango, Inuyasha!" she called.

"I feel slightly insulted," Miroku stated when she stalked off without calling to him.

"Ayame's smart enough to not acknowledge your existence, because otherwise her ass is in trouble," Sango teased. "You might as well be dirt under her nail, pervert."

"As long as I'm acknowledged by you, dear Sango, then I am content," Miroku proclaimed, arms stretched as though he were reciting a Shakespearean sonnet to her.

Sango's cheeks reddened, and as she laughed she glanced away almost shyly. "Dork."

"How do you guys know Koga and Ayame, anyways?" Kagome asked curiously. After all, Inuyasha and Sango didn't seem to have many friends outside of their small group.

"Well, wolf-shit is the son of some CEO in a big multi-million dollar business. His father despises mine, and vice versa," Inuyasha grumbled. "And Ayame is the granddaughter of one of my old man's business partners."

"Oh yeah, and by the way, Kagome, we'd love to visit some time," Sango said, remembering their conversation from earlier. "Gimme your phone, I'll put my number in and you can give me your info—"

"She lives in the Sunset Shrine," Inuyasha interrupted.

Kagome blinked. "I-I do, but how…?"

The half-demon flushed in embarrassment. "You mentioned it the other day. I just remembered."

Kagome smiled widely as she accepted Sango's phone. "Well, I'll text you soon and we can set up a time to come over," she promised.

Sango beamed at her, before holding out her hand. "Yours, too. Inuyasha, hand your phone over."

"Feh? What for, I barely use the thing—ow!" Inuyasha yelped when Sango suddenly twisted his pinky finger tightly.

"Because you need Miroku and Kagome's numbers and emails," Sango implored, putting emphasis in Kagome's name. Inuyasha flushed and shot her a glare, but fished his phone out of his pocket.

"Don't expect too many texts from him. He only owns the thing so that Mrs. Izayoi knows he's alive," Sango warned as Inuyasha and Miroku exchanged info.

"Shut up, Sango." Inuyasha turned to Kagome and he gruffly asked for her number and email. Kagome happily gave it to him.

"Sango, we should exchange numbers as well." Miroku gave her a smile, holding out one hand while the other remained casually at his side - the side facing her.

Sango nodded, handing her phone over. Grabbing his phone, she decided to take a silly selfie as her contact picture and giggled.

That was before she felt a pressure on her backside.

_Slap!_

_Slam!_

"PERVERT!"

"LECH!"

Kagome sighed. "Idiot."

###

"Rin!"

"Kagome!"

The younger priestess tackled her cousin, laughing hysterically. "I've missed you!"

"So have I!" Rin Hayashi grinned. Even though she was older, Rin was inches shorter than Kagome, with long black hair and wide hazel eyes. And her skin was much more tanned than her's.

"I can't believe I'm staying in the shrine! I've always loved it!" Rin looked up at the sacred tree fondly. "It never changes, does it?"

"Nope." Kagome stared up at the Goshinboku, finding comfort in the giant tree that blessed her shrine. It was always surrounded by a warm and loving aura which Kagome couldn't help but feel happy whenever she was around it.

"Plus the steps make one hell of a work out," Rin joked.

"I'm under the firm belief that those steps are the only reason I'm fit," Kagome said seriously, before the two burst into giggles.

"In all honesty, I'm really glad to see you. Now come on, I'll show you your room! And you have to tell me how your brother's doing!" Kagome grabbed Rin by the hand and dragged her to the house.

The branches of the Goshinboku rustled in their direction.

###

"Miroku, it's nice to see you!" Rin hugged the taller monk, before warning him, "If your hands go any lower than my back, I'll purify you."

"Message received." Miroku pulled away. "You've been working on your spiritual powers, then?"

"It's still not much," Rin admitted. "But I've figured out how to infuse some of my powers into my bombs, where the chemicals amplify the purification."

Miroku's face paled. "Bombs?"

"They're safe unless I put my powers in them, so don't worry!" Rin said cheerfully.

"The one who should be worried is me, I'm the one living around her." At this comment Rin stuck her tongue out at the girl, which was ignored as Kagome glanced down at her phone. She bit her lip.

_Text sent to Sango: Hey, if you want to come over today to meet Rin, you can! Bring Inuyasha along!_

_Text sent to Inuyasha: If you want, you can come over to my house today to meet Rin w/ Sango. I don't mind!_

She wondered if they really would come.

###

"I didn't cross the line, did I?"

"You used Sesshomaru's credit card to buy Jade Dew tea, Inuyasha. _Jade Dew Green Tea_. You know how much money you used to buy tea like that? 10,000 yen. With Sesshomaru's money."

"Oi, _you_ were the one who swiped the card from the bastard in the first place!" Inuyasha snapped, before staring at the bag in his hand. "I just don't wanna leave a bad first impression," he muttered.

Sango nodded understandably at Inuyasha's reasoning. He may act like he didn't care what people thought of him - and most of the time, that was true - but it was different with people who were close to him. He didn't want Kagome's family to hate him. Sango could still remember the day he met her parents; he was so cute, stammering and blushing and offering the same tea he bought today for Kagome.

"Dork." Sango smiled up at him. "I'm sure they'll like you just fine."

Inuyasha nodded, looking down surprised that they were already at the top of the stairs leading to the shrine. "You should text Kagome that we're here," he stated offhandedly, looking around the property as if expecting a barrier to push him out.

"And you can't do it because…?" Sango raised an eyebrow.

"Keh. I'm a slow texter and you know it."

"Fair point." Sango pulled out her phone and quickly typed a message for Kagome.

_Text sent to Kagome: Hey! Inuyasha &amp; I are here._

Immediately Kagome responded.

_Text received from Kagome: Great! Just go around the shrine and you'll see the house. The front door's open._

"C'mon, she says her house is around…there!" Sango began to jog towards the house, Inuyasha quickly following. Opening the door, they were greeted by Kagome and Miroku.

"Welcome! You can just go around barefoot if you want, or the slippers are next to you." Kagome beamed at them. "Rin! Come meet Inuyasha and Sango!"

A girl shorter than all of them ran towards them from the other room, beaming. "Hi, I'm Rin! You two must be Sango and Inuyasha! I'm glad to meet you, two. Kagome's told me so much about you!"

_Including my crush on Inuyasha,_ Kagome panicked. Before she could make any gesture to shut Rin up, the girl winked at her. She immediately blushed bright red.

"… And here I thought Kagome was energetic," Inuyasha muttered. Sango elbowed him in the gut.

"It's nice to meet you too, Rin." Sango smiled at her, bowing. She elbowed Inuyasha again.

"Ow, dammit woman—" He stopped when she gave him a pointed look and then glanced towards their bag.

"Oh, um…I bought something for your family, Kagome. Sango helped." He thrust the bag out, avoiding looking at her directly.

Kagome smiled at him, taking the bag. "Thank you, Inuya—Rin!"

Rin had swiped the bag from her and peered inside. "Oo, he bought tea! And the good quality, expensive type! He's a keeper, Kagome." Rin winked again, laughing at her cousin's even redder face. "Aunt Korari! Look what Kagome's friends bought for us!"

Inuyasha stiffened, only calming down with Sango's hand on his lower back, as a woman walked into the main hallway. The woman had short brown hair and the same blue eyes as her daughter.

"Hi, Mama. This is Inuyasha Takahashi and Sango Taijiya," Kagome introduced.

"Hi, Mrs. Higurashi." Miroku waved.

"Hello, Miroku. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sango, Inuyasha." Korari bowed at them with a kind smile.

"The pleasure is ours." Sango smiled as she bowed, forcing Inuyasha into a bow too.

"Keh."

"Look what Inuyasha bought, Aunt Korari!" Rin showed her the bag eagerly, and Korari peered into it curiously. Inuyasha noticed that Kagome had the same look her mother had when she was curious - wide eyes, eyebrows up high, and her lips forming a small 'o'.

"This is very good tea. I haven't had such good quality leaves in a long time. Thank you, Inuyasha. Kagome was right about you. And about the fact that your ears are cute," Korari added once she noticed the two triangles sticking out of the boy's head.

"Mama!" Kagome blushed, hating how often her face had gone red in the last twenty minutes. Miroku and Rin looked at each other and stifled their laughs. Sango raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"How about I go and prepare some of this." Korari looked into the bag again, the same smile on her face.

"I'll help you, Aunt Korari!" Rin grabbed her aunt's arm and skipped away with her. Inuyasha barely had any time to blink before he was suddenly blinded by white.

"Demon! Begone!"

_"Gramps!"_

Sango frowned and peeled the sutra off of Inuyasha's face. "This sutra…" she trailed off, unwilling to insult the old man.

"Is completely useless," Inuyasha finished for her, not at all concerned with the old man's feelings. He grabbed the sutra and frowned. "Even Miroku has more power in his sutras than this. This guy must be a fake!"

"How dare—!" The old man, who was garbed in traditional clothing, began to protest.

"Gramps! Apologize to Inuyasha!" Kagome scowled at her grandfather. "He's done nothing wrong!"

"He's a demon, Kagome! A demon—"

"Only half," Sango defended her best friend, glaring at the old man.

"Leave him alone, Gramps!" A boy, no older than eleven, ran in with a young redhead kitsune on his shoulder. His eyes were wide with admiration. "You're Inuyasha Takahashi," he breathed out.

Sango's breath hitched at seeing him, and Inuyasha put a hand on her lower back. "Keh. Yeah."

"I've seen you on the news sometimes! You're so cool!" The boy jumped up and down, the kitsune holding on tight. "The way you just save people because you feel like it is really awesome! I wish I could do that!"

"That's my little brother, Sota," Kagome explained. "The kitsune is—"

"Kagome!" Said-kitsune jumped into her arms from Sota's shoulders.

"Hi, Shippo," she cooed, holding him tightly.

"Nice to see you so grown, Shippo." Miroku turned to the confused hanyou and demon slayer. "He's an orphan," he whispered to the two so the others wouldn't hear before raising his voice again. "This is Shippo; who has a major crush on Kagome—"

"Do not! She's super nice!" Shippo huffed. "She's like a mom, I've told you that."

"Right. Shippo. This is Inuyasha and Sango, our friends," Miroku introduced.

Shippo stared at Sango. "You're pretty." He turned to look at Inuyasha and sniffed. "You smell like dog."

"And you smell like a fox who needs to go to the bathroom," Inuyasha growled. Shippo let out an "eek!" and jumped back to Sota.

"C'mon, Shippo." Sota shook his head at the kitsune and walked away, presumably to a bathroom.

"Inuyasha," Sango admonished.

"Feh." Inuyasha shrugged, indifferent. "He was being a brat."

Kagome just smiled. "Shippo can be a bit…bratty sometimes. But he's a good kid. Now!" She clapped her hands together. "Let's go to the living room."

###

"You really did that? And it was _Sango's_ idea?" Miroku blinked in shock at the story which was currently being explained.

"Don't let her Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes act fool you, it's only half true," Inuyasha scoffed. "What I can't believe is Kagome ditching school to punch her brother's bully in the face."

Kagome laughed. "Well, Sota is far more important to me than school. And it was fun to punch him."

"Defending little brothers is what older sisters do." Sango looked down at her empty tea cup with a mask hiding her emotions - from everyone but Inuyasha, it seemed. He was the only one who glanced at her and frowned. It was only then that Miroku began to suspect something.

"Sango, do you—" Miroku began to ask, remembering the fact that she lived with Inuyasha now - something they only knew from overhearing their conversation at the library back in April, three months back. _Has it really been that long?_

A ring started, shrill but muffled, and Inuyasha took his phone out of his jacket pocket. Looking at the caller ID, he cursed an answered. "Aunt Shina? What's wrong?"

Sango's eyes widened and she looked up at him in near panic. Kagome and Miroku exchanged worried looks.

"Still no clues?…What do you mean maybe?! Aunt Shina, I don't want to rush you—keh, maybe a little, but Kohaku doesn't have much—yeah…Feh. I'll tell her. Say hi to Amaya for me. Bye Aunt Shina." He hung up and turned to look at Sango. They seemed to have a mental conversation before Sango abruptly stood up.

"Where's your bathroom, Kagome?" she asked politely.

"There's one down the hall near the kitchen," Kagome answered hesitantly. "Are you—?"

"Thanks," Sango interrupted her before hurrying away. Inuyasha frowned deeply, but stayed where he was.

_"What was that about?"_ Kagome mouthed to Miroku. He shrugged, but looked deeply troubled.

One thing was for certain. Someone named Kohaku was in trouble.


	7. セーブ

_セーブ (sēbu) - keep safe or rescue (someone or something) from harm or danger_

Just a few days before school started back up again, Rin went grocery shopping.

Aunt Korari was going to ask Kagome to do it, but her sociable cousin was out with her friends. She was taking advantage of her last few days of freedom. So Rin offered to take her place as errand-girl.

However this errand-girl had an ulterior motive. With some money she earned by helping Gramps, she was going to buy some ingredients for her bombs. She was good at chemistry, so she knew no one in the house would mind her experiments because they trusted her.

Other than Kagome, that is. But Rin didn't worry about her. In Rin's opinion, Kagome was always kind of weird, so she shouldn't take the priestess's distrustful attitude personally.

Rin hummed as she entered the grocery store, looking around curiously. It seemed relatively empty, but she shrugged it off and grabbed a hand cart. Looking at the list, she mused that it wasn't too many items. She could finish this in no time.

Ever since she was little, Rin had had a talent of finding fun in everything, and most of that stemmed from her constant daydreaming. It was daydreaming that had helped her get through her toughest of days, her most boring lectures, and (like this very moment) mundane tasks. In her mind she was off on a very far away adventure as she piled what was listed into her cart. She wasn't paying close attention at all to what was happening around her, and was very surprised when a clawed hand covered her mouth and dragged her to a secluded corner of the store.

Rin began to to scream and escape, stomping on feet, thrashing around, and pinching arms. But unfortunately for Rin the attacker was not a single body; just when she thought she was free, another being grabbed her and the process of struggling was repeated.

She was then slammed so hard against the wall that it felt as though her breath was stolen from her windpipe. Gasping for air was difficult, as the clawed hand was still over her mouth, but she managed. She looked up at the people who grabbed her with wide, terrified eyes.

It was a group of three wolf demons, all leering down at her. She shrunk back against the wall.

"You're a pretty thing," one grabbed her arm tightly and yanked. She winced and fruitlessly tried to shake him off.

"Hey, Koga! Wanna join us?" another asked a wolf demon that had not participated in her apprehension; the only wolf demon that wasn't leering at her like she was a piece of meat.

"Not interested. I can't believe you dragged me out for this. Compared to this, even Ginta and Hakkaku's movie night is sounding good," Koga grouched, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do what you want, I don't really care. I'm leaving. I'll see if I can find Kagome anywhere around." He walked away with a scoff at their direction.

Kagome? Rin's energy began to spark anew. The sound of her cousin's name had her thrashing like there was no tomorrow. Kagome was quite possibly in danger, she had to do something! Rin tried to kick her captors but a third wolf demon grabbed her legs and forced them open. She shivered at feeling his hands on her bare legs.

Heart beating wildly in her chest, she struggled even more. _"nonononoNOPLEASE—"_ Her mind repeatedly screeched this mantra like a siren.

A clawed hand, lean and graceful, grabbed the collar of the demon holding her legs. The hand carelessly flicked him away, making the demon skid against the tiled floor. Then he (although she noticed there was a distinct feminine quality about him) grabbed the one holding her arms and soundly dislocated his shoulder with one crack. The only one left, who had been covering her mouth, let her go and began to back away, but he was backhanded so hard he fell to ground. All three of them shaking, they stood with difficulty and ran away from the store.

Gasping for air and trying to control her heartbeat, Rin looked up at her savior. Just as she had enough air in her lungs, her breath caught.

He was gorgeous, the most beautiful being she had ever seen. Knee-length pure white hair, serious gold eyes, and pale skin. He was clearly a demon, too - he had a blue crescent moon on his forehead, and two magenta markings on his cheeks, which slithered down his body to his hands.

Rin blinked in astonishment. This outwardly being…had saved her?

"T-thank you," she stuttered out.

His eyes stared at her, showing no emotions. "Think nothing of it," he ordered.

"Sesshomaru, I'm done shopping—" A demoness with pure black hair in an intricate hairstyle and ruby red eyes walked over to the tall, graceful demon. Her eyes widened at seeing Rin. "You're bleeding!"

Rin looked down at her legs. When her savior had yanked the wolf demon away, the claws had left shallow but long cuts on her bare legs. She hadn't noticed before. Just like she hadn't noticed how much she was shaking.

She slid down the wall and collapsed, her legs outstretched in front of her. It was getting difficult to breath, she dimly noted. Everything around her didn't seem real. She choked on her breath, feeling as though she was about to throw up. She clutched her chest, eyes wide and panicked as she tried to find the oxygen she desperately needed—

"Sesshomaru, buy some first aid," the demoness ordered, kneeling next to Rin and grabbing her hand.

"Don't tell me what to do, Kagura, especially after dragging me here—"

"Just do it or I'll give Inuyasha the combination of your room lock!" Kagura hissed. "She's having a panic attack!"

_Panic attack?_ Rin dimly asked herself. She trembled even when she didn't want to, and her breath was happening too quickly. She couldn't get enough of it in, and everything was becoming distorted in her vision.

Sesshomaru stiffened and then silently walked away to do what was asked. Kagura turned back to Rin, gripping her hand.

"Hey, take deep breaths with me, okay?" Kagura said gently. Rin nodded frantically, gripping Kagura's hand tightly, but the demoness didn't complain.

"In…out…in…out…" She did this every 10 seconds, and Rin slowly found it easier to breathe with each deep breath.

"You can get through this. Now, try to raise your hand over your head. Can you do that?" Kagura asked gently. Rin did as asked, raising her hand despite her shaking. She repeated the motion, noticing how her shaking slowly stopped as she did so. Her heartbeat was lowering too, going back to normal. Rin took a deep breath, shuddering like a winter's night as she slowly let it out again.

"I'm proud of you. Good job." Kagura smiled, and Rin smiled back up at her.

"Thank you. I've never had a panic attack before, so I didn't know what was happening and was panicking even more." Rin rubbed the back of her neck.

"It's okay. I used to suffer pretty bad ones, so I know what to do." Kagura pulled out a water bottle from her shopping bag and opened it, offering it to her. Rin accepted gratefully, taking slow sips.

"Wait…you mentioned Inuyasha before. Inuyasha Takahashi?"

"You know him?" Kagura raised an eyebrow.

"My cousin, Kagome, is friends with him. I've met him." _And heard him complain about his older, full demon, half brother._

_Sesshomaru Takahashi._

"I'm Kagura Kaze. And that Mr. Cold Eyes was Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older brother." Kagura looked down at her. "What's your name? And what happened here?"

"Rin Hayashi. A-and I was grabbed by three wolf demons. They were…they were…" Rin swallowed, and Kagura tightened her grip on her hand to help her calm down before she had a second panic attack. "Sesshomaru saved me," Rin finished quietly.

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "That's strange. He despises humans. But maybe he's growing. That would be nice."

"There was a fourth one," Rin mumbled, biting her lip. "Koga. He…Kagome!" She started to stand up, cursing. How _stupid _she was! Kagome's probably in danger and here she is, having panic attacks and talking with a demoness she just met—!

"Calm down. Kagome's fine." Kagura gently pulled her day to sit. "Koga goes to our school. He's a harmless asshole, and spends most of his time trying to woo Kagome, not rape her."

Rin immediately relaxed, but her gaze hardened. She clenched her hands into fists. "I don't like him."

"Neither do I. Or Sesshomaru. Or Inuyasha," she added as an afterthought.

Rin let out a breath of relief, her shoulders sagging down. If Inuyasha didn't like him, then Kagome would definitely be safe.

"I'm just not looking forward to going to school with him," Rin confessed. "Koga, I mean. Inuyasha's pretty nice. He even brought over a great house warming gift."

"Oh? Are you transferring to our school?" Kagura leaned forward, eyes sparkling.

"Yep. I thought my only friend would be Kagome, but I'm glad I met you!" Rin beamed a giant smile, and Kagura laughed softly.

"Who says you will be seeing her at school?" a cold voice asked. Looking up, Rin gulped at seeing the beautiful, cold Sesshomaru…with a first aid kit in his hand.

Swallowing again, Rin mustered her courage. Her hands, which had just unclenched moments ago, became fists again. "Who are you to tell me I won't? I'm very grateful you saved me, but if I wish to see Kagura then I will. Unless she doesn't want to see _me_."

Kagura smirked. "With that spunk and courage? Of course I will, Rin. Now Sesshy, pass me the first aid kit."

Sesshomaru handed the kit over with a scowl. "I shall be waiting outside."

"We're giving a ride home to Rin. Those wolves may be lurking around." Rin stiffened at the thought, and Kagura patted her hand. "No complaints," Kagura interjected sharply when he opened his mouth.

Sesshomaru's eyebrow twitched. "If we must." He walked away with no looking back.

"The great Sesshomaru complains?" Rin couldn't help asking as Kagura began to clean her cuts.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea."

Looking at each other, the two girls burst out laughing.

###

Kagome nearly snorted into her ice cream. "So you actually threw sticks for Inuyasha to catch?"

Sango nodded, licking her ice cream thoughtfully. "It was April Fool's Day, so I thought it was funny."

"I'm assuming he didn't take it that way?"

"He didn't talk to me for a week."

Kagome winced. "Harsh, even for Inuyasha."

"He had a good reason," Sango admitted. "He's already been called a freak, a monster - the works - for most of his life. Considered too strong to the humans, considered too weak to the demons. Just…in between. So being treated like a dog by his best friend didn't go well."

Kagome frowned into her ice cream. "He carries around a lot of emotional baggage, doesn't he?"

"Oh, you have _no_ idea." Sango rolled her eyes.

"What are you two wenches talkin' 'bout?"

"Nothing, Inuyasha." Sango smiled innocently at the half-demon, who had appeared next to her. "How's Miroku feeling?"

"Much better now, thank you." Miroku went to stand next to Kagome and tried to steal some of her ice cream. Two things happened subsequently: the first was that Kagome pushed him away. The second was that Inuyasha threw a cherry and it hit Miroku straight in the forehead.

"Hell no," Inuyasha deadpanned. "You just threw up lunch, you are in no position to have fucking ice cream."

Sango shook her head and with one hand, ruffled through her messenger bag. She pulled out a bag of salted pretzels.

"Take these, Miroku." She shook the bag. "Pretzels are good for upset stomachs."

Miroku looked at the bag, then at Sango. Suddenly, he collapsed to his knees in front of her and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the bag. "My lady Sango, I would be honored to take the magical bag of pretzels that will make my upset stomach feel better," Miroku proclaimed in an overly-dramatic voice, as if impersonating a really bad actor. He ignored the stares he was getting from the fellow visitors at the park.

"Knock it off, Miroku!" Sango tried to sound serious, but her laughter wasn't easily contained. She hadn't even bothered to shake his hand off her wrist. "Take the stupid bag before I change my mind!"

"Of course, my lady!" Taking the bag, Miroku then proclaimed, "I should kiss the ground you step on!"

"Don't even think about it—_Miroku!_"

Leaning down, Inuyasha whispered in Kagome's ear, "Miroku's a dork. How have you dealt with him for so long?"

"Patience," Kagome whispered back, ignoring the pleasant shivers that went down her back. "And you're just a big a dork, Inuyasha."

"Feh! Am not—wait." Leaning up to his full height, Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at something. Kagome followed his eyes to see what he was looking at.

At tall, creepy-looking man, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, with long black hair that looked like a tangled web. It was like a dark cloud followed him around, shrouding him in a dark, sinister light no matter how he looked. He was seemingly harassing a familiar girl with long silky black hair and a regal demeanor.

"Excuse me." Inuyasha walked away without saying another word. Kagome stared in shock as he approached the two.

"What is he _doing_?" Sango hissed. Glancing at her, she she looked majorly pissed. When Miroku saw who she was glaring at, his eyes widened.

Before either one could say anything, Sango followed Inuyasha, nearly stomping holes into the ground. Kagome and Miroku quickly followed, curious about what was going to happen.

"Leave her alone," Inuyasha was saying gruffly. "When a girl tells you to stop... You. Fucking. Stop."

"Trying to win back the favor of your past love, Inuyasha? Pathetic," the man scoffed.

"This has nothing to do with that," Inuyasha growled. His fingers curled, claws shining in the sunlight. "It's about listening and respecting a girl's wishes."

"What would you know about respect, Inuyasha? You've never received it."

"Watch it," Sango hissed, stepping next to Inuyasha. Her free hand clenched into a fist, shaking. The hanyou, however, just shrugged.

"I've probably been given more than you, Naraku."

Naraku growled at him, his glare nearly petrifying. The girl he had been harassing finally spoke.

"Onigumo, I'm not interested," Kikyo said firmly. "Leave, before I _force_ you." Her hands began to glow pink.

Naraku hesitated, but when Kagome's hand began to glow pink and Miroku went to grab a sutra, Naraku got the point. He gave one long look to Sango. It was a look that suddenly gave her the feeling of spiders crawling all over her. Out of the blue her brain began doing back-flips. Her mind was flashing with a dark image of demonic red eyes. She clutched her head as Naraku walked away.

"You okay, Sango?" Inuyasha asked quickly.

"Yeah. Just a sudden migraine." Sango rubbed her forehead. "He gives me the creeps."

Inuyasha nodded, then turned to Kikyo. "Are you okay, Kikyo?"

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Inuyasha."

Kikyo Miya was a girl that had a resemblance to Kagome. However in Kagome's opinion that girl was much more beautiful. She had pink straight, shiny black hair that reached her waist, and calm brown eyes. Her porcelain skin was so pale and smooth it could be compared to a doll's. She was a very talented priestess, too. Kagome and Miroku had known her for years, but while on good terms, they weren't very close.

"I'm glad you're okay, Kikyo." Kagome bit her lip, eyes darting to where Naraku had gone. "Who _was_ that?"

"Naraku Onigumo. He's a third year that is nearly never at school," Kikyo explained. "I made the mistake of helping him with an injury once and he hasn't left me alone since."

"You actually helped a demon? Shocker," Sango growled. Now that her headache was gone, she was back to glaring at Kikyo. Her fist hadn't unclenched.

Inuyasha gave her a look and shook his head at her, turning back to Kikyo. "He's a bastard. Has he done anything stalker-like to you?"

"Other than being at every corner I walk by at school," Kikyo replied. "I'll be fine. Thank you for your concern, Inuyasha."

"I know you'll be fine, but that isn't the point," Inuyasha insisted. "Naraku is Kagura's half-brother, and he's relentless. If you need help just come to me."

Kagome's heart began to beat faster. _Don't tell me he still has feelings for Kikyo…? I thought they broke up months ago!_

"You can come to us, too, Kikyo." Miroku gestured to the entire group. "We're your friends."

At hearing that, Sango snorted. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. Inuyasha sighed and elbowed her. She shut up, but continued to glare.

Kikyo pursed her lips together. "Alright. Thank you. I'll see you two later in training," she told Kagome and Miroku, before hesitating. She laced her fingers together. "…it was nice seeing you again, Inuyasha. Sango."

Sango huffed and turned away from her, not saying a word. Inuyasha nodded. "Keh. Same to you, Kikyo."

Kikyo nodded and walked away, only looking back once to wave. Sango let out a breath. "I hate her," she mumbled.

"Sango," Inuyasha warned.

The demon slayer simply rolled her eyes and gave her ice cream a hard lick.

"Do you two have more plans for today or is this it?" Inuyasha asked Kagome and Miroku, but his eyes were only on Kagome, asking _her_ if it was okay to leave.

"This is it. It's okay, you two can go." Kagome smiled kindly, only titling her head to the side slightly. She masked her confusion very well, if you asked her.

Miroku would later disagree. But who cares what Miroku thought?

"Feh. We'll see you later, Miroku. Bye Kagome." Inuyasha grabbed Sango's arm and began to drag her away. Sango waved with difficulty, since she still had her ice cream cone in hand.

###

Kagome began to finish her own cone, sitting next to Miroku on a park bench. Miroku was eating his pretzels slowly, savoring each one.

"So," Kagome broke the silence. "Why do you think Inuyasha and Kikyo broke up?"

Miroku swallowed his pretzel, tapping his chin with a finger. "Maybe because they were too different?" he suggested. "Inuyasha _is_ gruff, and Kikyo's practically royalty."

"I think they have a lot more similarities than you think." Kagome stared down at her half-eaten cone, all of the sudden not that hungry.

Kikyo had friends, but she always alluded what could best be described as a lonely aura. Inuyasha had Sango now, but Kagome could clearly remember a time when he was always on edge, as if waiting for her to change her mind about their friendship. This had now been changed, but when he was without Sango, he always looked so lonely. Maybe that's what attracted them to each other in the first place.

"Maybe so." Miroku frowned, rubbing his forehead. "But still, something _had_ to have happened."

"…Do you think Inuyasha still loves Kikyo, Miroku?" Kagome asked before she lost her nerve. She twirled the cone around between her hands delicately, not looking up at him.

Miroku was quiet as he thought about her question. He leaned back, staring up at the sky. "I don't think so," he said cautiously. "There are certain looks men make when they say the name of the person they love. Inuyasha didn't have any of those looks saying Kikyo's name."

Kagome nodded, finally looking up at him. She followed his gaze to stare up at the sky with him. Big and blue and beautiful. She smiled softly. The sky had always helped calm her frazzled thoughts.

"What _I_ really want to know is why Sango hates her," Miroku said, deeply troubled. His eyebrows creased together.

_Aaaaand_ her frazzled thoughts were back.

"Maybe Kikyo did something to Inuyasha that bothered Sango?" she suggested.

"Or the break up was bad," Miroku offered, then frowned. "But so badly it made her hate Kikyo? Inuyasha and Kikyo were being civil to each other. And Kikyo hasn't done too many things to cause someone to _hate_ her…"

Which was true. While Kikyo's train of thought and actions could be questionable at times, she generally tried to do the right thing. However, people sometimes decided to dislike her because of one action, or one mistake. No one was perfect, least of all Kikyo, Kagome reasoned.

"Maybe Sango's jealous," Kagome voiced the thought that neither of them had wanted to say. "Jealousy is often the cause of hate."

Miroku sighed, looking down at his hands. "Perhaps. But we haven't confirmed anything between them yet."

"True." Kagome popped the last bit of cone into her mouth. Funny, she couldn't remember eating most of it.

Miroku stared at his empty pretzel bag. Sango had given this to him. To him, it was a sign that she _cared_. Whether it was platonic or romantic, she cared about him. And that made his heart race and his chest lighten.

"Whatever the reason," Kagome spoke, "we'll figure it out eventually, right?"

"Right." Miroku nodded in determination.

After all, they were Kagome Higurashi and Miroku Houshi. They were nothing but extremely curious people, after all.


	8. 対決

_対決 __(taiketsu) - a hostile or argumentative meeting or situation between opposing parties_

It had been weeks, and Rin was fed up.

Stomping toward her target, Rin was nothing but determined as she headed towards the dog demon calming eating his lunch. Her brown eyes were flashing in anger as she stopped in front of what was dubbed as Sesshomaru Takahashi's tree. Such a name was given to the plant as it was where Sesshomaru was most often found at lunchtime. Kagura, too, joined him, eating on the bench nearby. The tree was just a simple pine tree, but Sesshomaru sat on the roots, leaning against the tree trunk. He did nothing to show that he noticed her approaching, only continued eating with his eyes closed.

Rin stopped in front of him, her hands on her hips. He opened his eyes to look at her with a bored expression, and she gritted her teeth. She didn't care that they were at school, all she wanted right now were answers. And Kami would she get those answers if it was the last thing she did.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" she demanded.

Silence.

"Hi, Rin. Sesshomaru pissing you off?"

"Hi, Kagura." Rin didn't miss the twitch in Sesshomaru's jaw when she greeted the wind sorceress. "And yes, he is."

Kagura continued, sitting down gracefully. "Of course he is. Continue, then."

Rin nodded and narrowed her eyes at Sesshomaru. "Look, I know I'm not your friend. But it's just plain _rude_ to ignore people when they say hello, or even try to talk to you! The least you could do is nod back, and not ignore me as if I'm dirt under your shoe! Stop acting like I'm beneath you!"

"Do you not realize that you _are_ beneath me?" Sesshomaru finally said - the first time he has spoken her to her in weeks. "You're human. All humans are beneath this Sesshomaru."

Rin had to admit that the words stung. How could someone be so cruel? And how had she been such an idiot and to actually start to _like_ him? A thought suddenly struck Rin that made her begin to feel pity for the demon. Surely someone had taught him to think that way; it's surely not the norm to look down on someone like that. And it _definitely_ wasn't Inutaisho Takahashi. Her hands dropped from her hips to hang at her side.

"Cease looking at me like that," Sesshomaru said sharply, using the most emotion she had ever heard from him. "Cease looking at me like you _feel bad for_ me, human."

"My name is _Rin_. Not 'human.' And actually, you're right: I _do_ pity you." Rin locked eyes with him. "I pity anyone that thinks they're better than someone else for their heritage. I was born human, just as you were born demon. It might make me physically weaker than you, but at least I have a mind of my own! Your arrogance is pitiful, but I think you can change."

Sesshomaru rose to his feet, towering over the girl with his higher stature. His voice was dangerous... threatening. However, Rin knew he wouldn't hurt her. Call her crazy, but she didn't think he would hurt her. Not after what he did.

"And why is that?" he growled out.

"Because you saved me, Sesshomaru."

Silence.

A slow clap from Kagura followed. "_Kami-_ Rin, you're amazing," she blurted out. It was not every day that someone could win an argument with Sesshomaru.

Rin quickly flushed, breaking eye contact with the dog demon and looking at Kagura. "Uh.. sorry for interrupting your lunch, Kagura." She leaned in to Kagura as though it would give her more confidentiality between the girls before adding, "And I'm really glad I didn't start a scene or anything here."

"Are you kidding me? You're nearly as good as I am at putting him in his place. I wish you _did_ cause a scene; that way Sesshomaru would've been embarrassed by the entire school." Kagura patted the seat next to her. "Sit, sit! Join us."

Rin hesitated for only a moment, feeling unsure. Was it really right to sit with Sesshomaru after pissing him off so much? But after glancing at Kagura, who had been kind to Rin - even when her own best friend wasn't - she decided to say, _fuck it_. She sat down on the offered seat, smiling at Kagura.

"Sure!"

###

Kagome skipped through the hallways, humming an upbeat song with a smile on her face. It was already after school, but she had volunteered to help clean the teacher's lounge, so she had stayed behind.

She turned a corner, still humming, but she saw a sight had her her eyes widening. Her humming stopped. She quickly hid, leaning against a pillar with a hand over her chest. She clutched her shirt, heart pounding.

_What is going on?!_ Kagome peeked around the pillar, and quickly hid again. _Oh Kami._

She'd much rather accidentally walk into an Inuyasha vs Sesshomaru fight than a silent glaring match between Sango Taijiya and Kikyo Miya any day of the week.

Kagome took a deep, relatively silent breath, and let it out, shuddering. She peeked again, this time not chickening out and ducking back into the repose of brick wall.

Was this a stupid idea? Yes. Was she going to stop with this knowledge in mind? _Nope._

Kikyo finally broke the glaring contest, greeting the girl.

"Sango." Her voice was as neutral as possible.

"Kikyo." Sango put the garbage bag she had been holding down and crossed her arms. "Been breaking any hearts lately?"

Kikyo's eyes narrowed. "How long are you going to hate me for that? I'm allowed to break up with anyone I want, if I so please. Inuyasha understood my reasons—"

"Don't you _dare_ lie to me." Sango's voice dropped dangerously low and her arms fell to her sides. Her hands clenched into fists. "Inuyasha never understood your reasons - hell, he _still_ doesn't - because _you never gave him one!"_ Stalking forward, she jabbed a finger to Kikyo's chest. "All you said was that you wanted to break up - and _he_ jumped to the conclusion that you were unhappy. And since you're such a coward, you never told him the _real_ reason—"

"That _was_ the reason, Sango, you're the only one thinking I had another. Don't you _dare_ call me a coward!" Kikyo smacked her finger away.

Sango let out a bitter laugh. "We _both_ know the real reason you broke up with him, Kikyo."

Kikyo remained silent, looking as though she would have loved to break the muteness. Finally, she turned away. "Don't get involved in things you don't understand, Sango. Inuyasha and I are at peace, and you should accept that."

She began to walk away and stopped after a few feet. Hesitatingly, she added with her back still turned, "I don't hate you, Sango. I respect your strength, and loyalty," she said softly. "If your relations with Inuyasha weren't involved, would you still hate me?"

"I can't say," Sango said, head bowed. "But Inuyasha is my best friend, and you- I hate people who hurt my loved ones, and that's what you did, Kikyo. I can never forgive that."

"I see. And you never think of what—"

"Never," Sango interrupted, as if she had been asked this question a million times before. "I never want to imagine my life without him. Just like you never want to imagine your life without your little sister."

Kikyo smiled, eyes filled with a bitterness only Kagome could see. "He's lucky to have you. Goodbye, Sango."

She walked away finally, and Kagome bit her lip. Her heart ached. She barely understood what was going on, only getting bits and pieces. _What real reason? How is Kikyo a coward? Is this why Sango hates Kikyo?_

_What is going ON?!_

Kagome bit her lip harder, turning to look at Sango. Her bangs were covering her eyes, her lips drawn in a thin line. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, she bit her fist and _screamed._ She screamed until the air in her lungs was gone, and then took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I hate her," she muttered. voice hoarse. She reached down shakily to grab the garbage bag and walked out, bangs now out of her face. Angry tears were at her eyes, aching to just fall out.

Kagome stood there, book still in her arms. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, her mind unsure of what to do. Should she go after Sango, or pretend like she hadn't heard the fight? Should she tell Inuyasha so that he could console Sango?

Kagome just could not stop thinking about the hurt on the girl's face as she screamed just before. Suddenly, Kagome broke into a run as she made a resolve as to what she should do.

"Sango! Wait!"

Sango turned around, her free hand wiping at her face rapidly as she put the trash bag in the dumpster. "Kagome—?"

Kagome threw herself at Sango, hugging her tightly around the waist. She didn't say a word, only tightened her grip. Sango's hands hovered over Kagome's back before hugging her back tightly. A single tear rolled down her cheek to land on Kagome's hair.

###

"I told you that you wouldn't be able to make it."

"Shut up, Inuyasha." Miroku threw the basket at the half-demon, who quickly caught it without difficulty.

"Do you always ditch cleaning like this?" Miroku asked, watching him as he tried to make a basket with his eyes closed.

"Only when they do the spraying of all that sweet-smelling stuff." Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Got a pass from cleaning on those days. It kills my nose. Why aren't _you_ cleaning today, lech?"

"I feel bad." Miroku coughed with too much flare, even pounding his chest as he did.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Keh. _Right._"

A phone began to ring, and Inuyasha's right ear flickered over to where it was coming from. He frowned when he found that the sound was coming from his bag, and with a quick leap into the air, he got to his bag and pulled it from its place.

"Yo. Kagome?" Inuyasha tapped his fingers on his leg as one ear tilted down to hear what she was saying. Miroku stopped the ball, staring at Inuyasha talking to Kagome with furrowed eyebrows.

"Feh…? Whaddya mean?…Is she okay?... Where are you?…I'm going. See ya, Kagome. Stay where you are." Inuyasha hung up and began to rapidly gather his things, cursing under his breath.

"What happened? Are Kagome and Sango okay?" Miroku asked, his fingers fidgeting to twirl something in his fingers. It was times like these that he longed to have his monk's staff to twirl all day. It was really getting to be a bad habit, but he needed something occupying his hands.

"Apparently Sango wants to go home and Kagome doesn't want to leave her alone, but doesn't know where she lives. I'm gonna head over to where they're waitin'." Inuyasha threw his red sweater over his shoulder. "I'll text you later, Miroku." He took off, worry making his shoulders tense.

Miroku frowned and let out a long breath. If Inuyasha forgot to text him (which was likely), Kagome surely would to explain herself. Feeling better, Miroku began to pack his things as well. He saw no reason to stay there any longer, especially if Hachi ended up ratting him out to one of the teachers.

The door to the gym opened, and Miroku immediately sensed immense spiritual power that could only belong to one person.

Miroku shouldered his bag, locking eyes with the priestess. He gave her a small, polite smile. She didn't return it.

"Hello, Kikyo."

"Hello, Miroku." Kikyo's eyes darted from side to side, looking for something…or someone. "I thought I sensed…"

"Inuyasha? He just left. Kagome called - something about Sango wanting to go home." Miroku watched as Kikyo's eyes flashed, but he couldn't recognize the emotion that played. Bitterness? Sadness? Disappointment? A combination of all three?

"Sango, huh?" Kikyo fingered her ponytail. "I just needed to…never mind. I'll talk to Inuyasha later."

"Why does Sango hate you, Kikyo?"

He didn't mean to say that. Damn Kagome, she was rubbing off of him.

Miroku stared at Kikyo, her lips a thin line. She flickered her gaze downwards.

"Sango is protective of Inuyasha," she finally said. "You know that already. She's especially very biased towards the men in her life, which can cloud her judgement of other people."

"Men-? Plural?" Miroku took a step back, eyes wide. Did Kikyo mean _him_? Sango was as protective of Inuyasha as Inuyasha was of her, but was _he_ included? Because for the life of him he couldn't figure out any other men in Sango's life that she cared for.

Kikyo didn't answer, just looked up at the ceiling. "I'll see you at training, Miroku. That question is something you should ask Sango if you really wish to know."

She walked back out, leaving Miroku alone with his own thoughts.

###

"Sorry that we had to go back for my shoes…" Kagome said sheepishly.

"You're lucky Sango noticed, or else your slippers wouldn't be intact right now," Inuyasha shot back, shifting his hold on Kagome.

Kagome laughed nervously, trying to come across as being embarrassed for nearly losing her slippers and definitely not because Inuyasha was giving her a piggyback ride. Nope. Definitely not that.

She was such a bad liar.

Kagome bit her lip as she stared at the dog ears in front of her. _I think I wanna…touch 'em._

She quickly shook her head. _Nope! Bad Kagome! DO NOT think about how soft his hair is, or how silky is ears look and how much you want to touch them—_

"You okay back there, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, twisting his head to the side to look at her. "Do I need to adjust my grip or somethin'?"

Kagome shook her head quickly. She hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. _No thinking about his hands on your bare thighs, either. Don't do it, Kagome._

She did. Fuck.

"You're fine," she said, clearing her throat. "Inuyasha? Can I ask you something?"

"Keh, you just did."

She frowned and hit his shoulder. She hated that joke.

"What? You did!" Inuyasha glared at her with playful eyes.

"I wanted to ask you about your relationship with…Kikyo?" Kagome hesitated before saying her name, biting her lip.

Inuyasha's back stiffened before he forced himself to relax. "What 'bout it?"

"Did…did it end badly?"

Inuyasha fell quiet, and Kagome bit the inside of her cheek. _Did I cross the line? Should I apologize?_

"I don't know," Inuyasha finally said.

"You…don't know?" she repeated.

"Yeah, I don't," he snapped. "All I know is that Kikyo wanted to break it all off all of the sudden. I never figured out why."

"So you don't know what she was feeling, and you don't know if it ended badly or not," Kagome finished the thought for him, looking down.

"Feh. We're still civil to each other, so it doesn't matter anymore." Inuyasha shrugged. "We got together for the wrong reasons, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Kagome couldn't stop herself from asking, before letting out an _eep_. How rude of her to ask that! She blushed at how intrusive she must seem. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to!"

If only Kagome could read minds. For if she could, she would know that Inuyasha was shouting,_ "But I _want_ to!" i_n his mind.

The thought of what sharing such personal information with this girl implied scared Inuyasha. He hadn't felt something like this in a long time, and it was different that what he feels with Sango. It was familiar but new at the same time, and it scared him. He brushed off for now and continued. Tell Kagome first, think about confusing feelings later.

"Kikyo was lonely. I felt as if Sango would eventually ditch me sooner or later, and she had a life that didn't involve me, so I was lonely, too. Being lonely isn't a good thing in a relationship." Inuyasha scoffed.

"I guess…" Kagome leaned into his back. "Are you okay now?"

Inuyasha glanced at her in slight shock, before scoffing. "Course I am. Who do you take me for?"

Kagome stared at the back of head before resting her chin on his shoulder._ Dork._

She couldn't help smiling, and didn't bother trying to hide it.


End file.
